🎄 Are those chatbots roasting on an open fire? Through the magic of AI, Coca-Cola spreads holiday joy by kicking Santa to the curb. Amazon Prime’s effort to bore subscribers to death with spoiler-free, AI-generated episode recaps. Plus a “Wicked” packaging face plant, and more. 

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IN THIS EPISODE:

🥤 Ho-ho-ho, or oh-hell-no? The backlash over the Real Thing’s holiday ad campaign (00:30)
📺 Amazon Prime promos yawn-inducing episode recaps generated by AI  (03:25)
🧸 Toys tied to Universal’s latest movie release come with a “Wicked” surprise (at 05:28) 

Approximately 7-minute, 54-second runtime. Review privacy and other usage policies for technologies and/or services through which you access this podcast. Episode contains audio, visuals, and/or other content developed using generative AI and/or other digital production tools.

🎅🏻 (Un)Real Thing? The Fallout Over Coca-Cola’s AI Holiday Campaign

From the vault: In a pre-pandemic time capsule from August 2019, the Ricks marvel over a freaky new Amazon Prime show called “The Boys,” an R-rated horror movie featuring “The Banana Splits,” the origin story of McDonald’s Shamrock Shake, and enormous Luck Charms marshmallows coming to a s’more near you. 

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IN THIS EPISODE
👨‍🏫 The Ricks talk Back to School and pre-Internet gaming in the good old days  
🗓 The Ricks have a big milestone coming up  
🧜‍♀️ It's summertime, so of course Pumpkin Spice Lattes are already back  
🥤 Remembering McDonald's Shamrock Shakes of yesteryear  
🍌 The Banana Splits are back, in an very violent, R-rated horror flick  
📺 Why you need to drop everything & watch "The Boys" on Amazon Prime  
🥛 Did somebody say McWTF? McFizz is an unintentional eye-opener  
😸 "Friends": Old TV comes with perks—LEGO's Central Perk Playset  
🥣 Lucky Charms Jet-Puffed Marshmallows: Magically Delicious?  
🚀 "Star Wars Barbie" rocks the geek look—for an out-of-this-world price  
📸 Instagram and WhatsApp get new names  
📱 Verizon sells Tumbler to Automattic … for how little?  
🦸🏻‍♂️ Look who's coming to CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths"  

Approx. 17:33. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using generative AI-based tools.

☘️ Lucky Charms Go Big, The Banana Splits Go Bad, ‘The Boys’ Go Bonkers & More

In a wide-ranging new interview, 1Kosmos CMO Michael Cichon shares insights on the state of B2B content marketing, adoption of generative AI in modern marketing operations, the importance of digital identity, and more. Including: The end of websites as we know them. Next-gen email marketing. And SEO and SEM in the age of AI.

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IN THIS EPISODE:

📣 Becoming a CMO for B2B brands marketing SaaS-based solutions (at 1:00)
👺 Criminal minds: The fascinating world of cybersecurity (at 2:34)
🪪 The impact of digital identity on brand—for customers, the workforce, and more (at 3:24)
📈 The critical role of content in high-tech B2B marketing (at 7:48)
🤖 GenAI in B2B and the quest for more innovative applications- (at 10:30)
🎯 Microtargeting: Leveraging intent signals, social media & more (at 11:38)
🦾 Next-gen AI automation for marketing organizations (at 12:23)
❓ AWhat do SEM and SEO look like in the age of AI? (at 13:45)
📤 Email gets an AI makeover: Drilling down on email marketing (at 15:28)

Approx. 17 min, 10 sec. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using generative AI-based tools.

B2B CMO Michael Cichon on Content Marketing, GenAI, Digital ID & More

From the vault: In this episode from 2018, the Ricks respond to a Geek.com article about eleven 1970s sci-fi movies that were … better than Star Wars? Plus: iHop’s “iHob” rebrand revisited—and advice the Ricks would give their younger selves about a career in marketing. 

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IN THIS EPISODE:

🥞 iHob Revisited: Results from iHop’s stunt re-brand as “iHob” (at 0:54)
💥 Geek.com says these 11 1970s sci-fi movies better than Star Wars … (at 2:24)
👽 … And the Ricks have some thoughts about it (at 3:11)
📈 The Ricks on advice they’d give their younger selves about a career in marketing (at 14:33)

Approx. 20 min, 08 sec. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using generative AI-based tools.

🍿 Eleven 1970s Sci-Fi Movies Better Than Star Wars?

Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” satisfies. Marvel’s “Thunderbolts*” rebrand. Plus: loaded questions about surprising (and hilarious) brand refreshes for Mtn. Dew, PwC, and Panda Express. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

🫂Digital 'Halo' technology helps Michael B. Jordan play twins in “Sinners”
✱ Marvel gives “Thunderbolts*” a major rebrand in post-release campaign
💥 Can Marvel really pull off a movie like “Avengers: Secret Wars”?
🥤 Mountain Dew brand refresh goes wide with—tattoos?
📢 PwC upgrades its brand identity without spending $1 billion
🥡 Orange Chicken and a Song: Inside Panda Express’s “Pandaoke”

Approx. 22 min. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using generative AI-based tools.

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Brand Refresh Insights: Mountain Dew, Marvel's Thunderbolts* & More

Insights on Google’s Agentic AI moves. Billie’s scratch-and-sniff deodorant billboard. “The Pineapple Pizza Wars” raging at the Chicago Sun-Times, sparked by an AI-generated summer reading list’s fake books. Oura Ring’s provocative new campaign, and more. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

🍔 Welcome BBQ surprises are the best kind of BBQ surprises (at 1:17)
🧨 “M:I The Final Reckoning”: No “Fallout,” but still fun (1:44)
🥋 Bruce Lee and “Warrior” parties like it’s 1888 (2:34)
🚀 Tony Gilroy’s “Star Wars: Andor” lands the dismount (4:21)
🤖 The droid you’re looking for? “Murderbot” has “Lost in Space” vibes (4:44)
🧟 “The Last of Us” pulls a Ned Stark—and the Ricks aren’t impressed (5:28)
🍿 “Lilo & Stitch’ steals box office gold from Tom Cruise & crew (6:50)
📚 The summer reading list that wasn’t, courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times (8:20)
🛍️ Are agencies and retail brands ready for Google’s agentic AI? (9:24)
👀 Why SEO is more important than ever in the age of AI (10:49)
👃🏾 Billie’s scratch-n’-sniff deodorant billboard smells like the pits (11:43)
🥃 A whiskey brand’s scent-vertising & a ski trip with Longtime Listener Bill (13:03)
♨ Oura Ring’s new campaign begs you to “give us the finger” (15:00)
🔭 Outlook: Insights from Deloitte’s latest CMO survey (16:27)
🦁 Looking ahead to winners at the Cannes Lions Ad Festival (18:03)

Approx. 20 min. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using generative AI-based tools.

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AI Trends: Google AI Goes Agentic, Oura Ring Says ‘Give Us the Finger’ & More

🚀 Kurt Ho and Eric V. join the Ricks for a closer look at the brand called “Star Wars”—including the marketing deliverables, games, toys, and more on display at Rancho Obi-Wan, the largest private collection of Star Wars memorabilia in the world. Learn why the story that started “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” continues to take fans into the future. 

IN THIS EPISODE

👽 Welcome to Rancho Obi-Wan Museum of Star Wars Memorabilia (https://ranchoobiwan.org) (at 0:50) 
😎 The backstory on Steve Sansweet’s personal shrine to all things Star Wars (at 1:20)
✈️ Planning (a long time) ahead for not-so-easy-to-score Star Tours  (at 2:32)
🏢 At over 9,000 square feet, Rancho is saving Star Wars at scale (at 3:00)
👨🏼‍🚀 Why the docent may regret tapping Eric to share his Star Wars story first (at 5:05)
💥 When 400,000 posters, video games, books, action figures, and other collectibles aren’t enough (at 5:40)
🏛️ The Saga Museum: A vision to merge Rancho Obi-Wan, the “Sith”sonian, and others  (at 9:00)
🤠 From set pieces to Death Star bongs: How Steve Sansweet snares one-of-a-kind Star Wars collectibles (at 10:50)
🧐 How Eric won a rare Star Wars fan commemorative by stumping the docent (at 14:12)
🪥 For the love of Bib Fortuna: Kurt wins a bet about Star Wars Toothpaste (at 15:52)
🤪 The overwhelming emotions of it all: becoming a Star Wars kid again (at 17:17)
🛏️ From Farrah, with love: The most unexpected collectibles for Kurt and Eric (at 19:53)
 💪🏼 “You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought"—Whose line is it, anyway? (at 22:12)
🫆 Name that character: Muftak, Salacious B. Crumb, Droopy McCool—or the Dongalorian? (at 22:50)
❝ “I’ve got a bad feeling about this:” Star Wars quotes you can also say in bed (at 24:00)


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Approx. 26 min, 10 sec. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using AI-based tools.

🎬  Star Wars Road Trip: Inside Rancho Obi-Wan


🎥 Will James Gunn’s Superman soar—or be box office Kryptonite? Does Jurassic World: Rebirth have bite? In a crowded summer movie season, what’s in store for Ballerina, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Freakier Friday, and more (including … Happy Gilmore 2)? In this special episode, the Ricks count down their list of the three movies they’re most excited to see this summer—how does it compare to yours?

🏖️ Living La Vida Laguna (at 00:56) 
🙌🏼 Hollywood’s “Survive to ‘25” mantra (02:00)
✅ Rick M.’s caveat to the Ricks’ Top 3 (02:38)  
💥 Is the third time the charm for Fantastic Four? (02:55)
🏎️ Can Brad’s Pitt crew rev up a blockbuster? (04:35)
🔪 Will the feel-bad movie-of-the-year be fun? (06:30)
⚔️ Can old warriors deliver new thrills? (07:25)
💎 Ready for the new adventures of Lois & Clark? (10:30)
🩰 She wants to be your private killer (13:10)
🧟‍♂️ One runner-up arrives 28 Years Later (15:45)

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Approx. 17 min, 05 sec. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using AI-based tools.


🎬 3 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2025

It’s time for the Ricks’ official (and highly-spoilerific) review of one of the summer’s biggest movies: James Gunn’s Superman. From backstories to propaganda-posting monkey bots, and from half-baked controversies to crappy character haircuts (looking at you, Green Lantern), the Ricks give you the lowdown on the latest incarnation of everyone’s favorite Kryptonian. 

IN THIS EPISODE

🥳 Relief at DC Studios and Warner Bros (at 01:41)
🧐 Expectations: Super-Cautious–or Mucho Caliente? (02:24)
🎨 Not just a DC comic book movie–a live-action cartoon (03:06)  
🎚️ A Bald Tech-Bro Billionaire vs. Krypton’s Last Son (03:33)
🐾 The CGI Dog Stays in (and Steals) the Picture (03:50)
🦸🏻‍♂️ Enter: The Justice Gang* (Working Title) (04:45)
❤️‍🔥 Loaded Gunn: From “Bright Burn” to the Positivity Bug (05:19)
🎭 Lois, Clark, Lex & Beyond: Characters in Focus (05:55)
🤖 Gary the Robot & Cousin Kara: Kryptonian Disconnects? (07:21)
🧪 A Litmus Test for Successful Superman Stories (08:24)
🚨 Has Superman Gone Woke? Or Was He Always That Way? (09:50)
🐵 About Those Propaganda-Posting Monkey Bots (11:44)
🏮 The Lamest Green Lantern: Guy Gartner (12:09)
😎 A Cameo by Christopher Reeve’s Son (12:40)
🧑🏻‍🌾👩🏻‍🌾 Debating Gunn’s Interpretation of Ma and Pa Kent (12:46)
🥱 A Whole New Take on Kal-El? Or Same-Old, Same-Old? (15:04)
🧠 Whither Brainiac? Or Lobo, Jason Mamoa’s Next DC Role? (15:35)
🦸🏿‍♂️ Mr. Terrific: The Side Character Who Lived Up to His Name (15:50)
🤘🏼 Final Grades: Is Clark Really a Punkrocker? Or Just a Poser? (16:57)


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Approx. 19 min, 50 sec. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using AI-based tools.


💥Review: James Gunn’s Superman

🕶️ In their annual post-Comic-Con episode, guests Kurt Ho and Eric V. flip the script and interview the Ricks about their experience at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. It’s time to go inside Mardi Gras for Comic Book Geeks—and inspired brand activations from Lego, Hasbro, and more.

IN THIS EPISODE

🤓 135,000 strong: What happens in San Diego never stays there (at 01:38)
💥 Overall impressions from newbies & and novices (02:30)
🤘🏼 Party Central: “Ready Party One” rocks the cosplay (04:30)
🧱 Lego brand activation: Replicating Comic-Con in plastic bricks (05:10)
🤖 Galactus for the win: In a sea of cosplay, one towers over all (07:45)
💃🏼 Andor or else? The “Niamos!” flash mobs that never happened (08:08)
💩 Todd McFarlane unfiltered: The weirder side of Comic-Con 2025 (08:34)
🤬 Inside, outside, upside down: A cruel opening-day joke on attendees  (09:40)
🚍 A trippy bus ride you can only catch on the way to Comic-Con (11:46)
🎸 Zartan’s Revenge: Cobra Command goes heavy metal with Cold Slither (12:35)

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Approx. 15 min, 30 sec. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using AI-based tools.

Brand Activations: Lego, Hasbro & More at Comic-Con 2025 (Pt 1.)

In the conclusion of our annual coverage of geekdom’s biggest gathering, guests Kurt Ho and Eric V. continue to interview the Ricks about their experience at Comic-Con International 2025. Think: panels, purchases, parties—and at least some weirdness (looking at you, Megan 2.0). 
IN THIS EPISODE
📚 Rick W. shares the panels he attended—and some of their oddities
🦸🏽‍♂️ Rick M. on a panel with correlations with advertising industry—and missing host
🦾 Kurt Ho thanks Robotech promoters for keeping the faith
🚀 Rick M. reconsiders the “Star Trek Universe” panel in Hall H.
🔮 Kurt has an inspired idea for a panel at next year’s show
🛍️ Rick W. meets Johnny Bravo and buys a hell of a mystery box 
💥 Rick M. zeroes in on vintage Justice League’s comics
🥷🏻 Eric V. targets Firefly—GI Joe’s answer to Boba Fett
🤩 How GI Joe bypassed Star Wars in Eric V’s art collection
🏪 Circle K, hold the candy bars: comics in the good ol’ days
🎬 The crew’s best—and freakiest—moments from Comic-Con
🎉 Ready Party One revisited—and the less said, the better
🛸 Kurt rounds things out about friends and fun traditions
✅ Tips to those who want to attend Nerd Mecca net year

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Approx. 18 min, 30 sec. Review privacy and cookie policies for SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming services. Some audio and visual elements created using AI-based tools.


Brand Meets Fandamonium at Comic-Con 2025 (Concl)

Digital marketing insights from Rick Mathieson (author of Branding Unbound and The On-Demand Brand) and Rick Wootten (Silicon Valley CMO) as they share their unique brand of news and views on the trends impacting the intersection of marketing, media, tech, and pop culture. All delivered with an extra-large serving of fun. 

From B2C to B2B. CPG to SaaS. Digital to direct. Email to experiential. Social to search. Content to commerce. Generative to agentic AI. Viral video to virtual & augmented reality. POS to podcasts. Full funnel to WTF. This is the podcast for every marketer who’s out to rule the world. https://www.linkedin.com/company/rick-rick-rule-the-world

🎅🏻 (Un)Real Thing? The Fallout Over Coca-Cola’s AI Holiday Campaign

Rick & Rick: Marketing, Media, Tech & Pop Culture

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